Dad dies 7 hours after daughter

2008-04-01 09:01

Buks Viljoen

Delmas - Seven hours after an Evander woman died in a car accident in Mpumalanga, her father was shot dead in a hijacking in Delmas.

The Knoetze and Watson families from the eastern Highveld are shattered after a double tragedy at the weekend.

Willie Knoetze, 32, said on Monday of the accident in which his 30-year-old wife, Sharon, had died: "I'm okay, but I'll have to be very strong for our son now."

The couple's son, Dylan, was born two months ago. Sharon, who had worked for Sasol, still had been on maternity leave.

She died when the driver of a Volkswagen Polo ignored a stop sign and hit her Volkswagen Golf on the road between Evander and Secunda.

Her car slammed into Zi de Klerk, 54, who had been riding her motorcycle next to the car. She died later in hospital.

Shot dead next to car

The accident took place shortly after 12:00, as Sharon and Marius were on their way to drop off some videos.

Police are investigating whether the driver of the other vehicle had been drunk.

He had only light injuries and was arrested at the accident.

Marius was thrown from the vehicle. He also had only light injuries and was kept in hospital until his release on Monday. He is recuperating at his parents' home in Pretoria.

Sharon and Marius's son had been with Sharon's parents, Jimmy and Liz Watson, both 57, when the accident happened.

De Klerk, of Secunda, had been in Abrahamsrus near Sasolburg for the weekend where she had taken part in the Fox Rally.

While Sharon's family were gathering at her parents' home in Delmas, after they had received the news of their daughter, tragedy struck again.

Jimmy and his brother-in-law, Wentzel Herbst, went to buy food for the people who had gathered at the house.

Moments after they had arrived back at the house, hijackers attacked them and shot Jimmy dead next to his Ford Focus before fleeing with the vehicle.

Herbst and his two children Darian, five, and Teagan, two, escaped unscathed from the hijacking after Herbst had fled into the house with the kids.

- Beeld